Feel free to explore these conceptions of the dimensions of hope.

We have summarized the work of Dr. Duncan-Andrade, and encourage you to pursue greater context by reading his paper (12 pages), or watching his lecture (2 hours).

Links for both resources are provided at the bottom of this page.


False Hope - The Enemy of Hope

Hokey HopeIncomprehension of suffering

ignored inequities Informed by privilege

rooted in spectator optimism

Individualistic 'bootstrap' hyperbole

Mythical HopeDenial of suffering (ahistorical and depoliticized)

Celebrates individual exceptions

Myth of meritocracy

Deferred HopeRecognizes suffering, but no action today

Blames the system, not individual

Fails to cultivate students' control of destiny



Critical Hope - The Enemy of Hopelessness

Material:

Acknowledge and address suffering

Quality teaching = most significant resource

Social Justice orientation = relevance

Connect school to real, material conditions


Socratic:

Share the suffering path

Use student indignation as strength

Prioritizes the humanization of students (stories)

Solidarity in painful struggle of examined life

Self reflection and sacrifice (positive harassment)


Audacious:

Connect with collective and individual struggles

Share in joy and in pain

Transform indignation to authentic action

Healing orientation, deep and caring relationships




TUPAC SHAKUR's MATH
The Rose Worth Celebrating

IF: Concrete = Soil
THEN: Each classroom could be a crack
IF: Damaged petals = Indignation, Tenacity & AudacityTHEN: Celebrate, don't reform

THUS: We must nurture our students through the cracks

These ideas are drawn from the article and lecture by Dr. Jeff Duncan-Andrade, Note to Educators: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete. The video of the lecture, which is a hefty 2 hours or so, is here.Tip: if you watch the video, skip ahead to around 13:00, that's when the A/V dept finally gets everything up and running smoothly.

The article on which the lecture is based appeared in the Harvard Educational Review, and is here.